Haven't really followed the season this year, but gotta watch some playoffs. GS - Rockets looks tasty, hoping for a Cleveland - OKC finals.
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John Salley was a guest host on Mike & Mike this AM. He shared some great insight into the Pistons, Bulls, and Lakes, including some specific players.
Funny: When talking about Steph waiting for test results, Mike asked John what its like to wait for test results, and John said your happy when she's not pregnant!
Funny: When talking about Steph waiting for test results, Mike asked John what its like to wait for test results, and John said your happy when she's not pregnant!
This is about the best result the Warriors could have hoped for, but it really puts the championship in jeopardy. The official finding is that he will be reevaluated in two weeks, and may or may not be cleared to play at time. He will miss some of the semifinal games, almost for sure, and maybe the entire series. And maybe more.
I'm surprised at the number of sportswriters who think the Warriors can win the second round, probably against the Clippers, without Curry. In one roundtable I read, 3/5 picked the Warriors to beat the Clippers if Curry was out for the entire series, and one of the others picked them if Curry came back midway through the series.
The Clippers were a pretty good team this year even without Griffin, and now they have him. In their two games with him vs. the Warriors this season, they led by double digits in the fourth quarter before going down. I really don't see how the Warriors can beat them without Curry. It's possible they might play Portland instead, but I doubt that.
Great players make a big difference to a team in the NBA. When Jordan retired to play baseball, the Bulls went from three consecutive championships to a team that couldn't get past the second round. In fact, when MJ returned after missing one full season and about half of another, and had about half of that second season to get back in form, they still were a shell of the team they had been.
And if somehow the Warriors get past the second round, they will probably be playing the Spurs in the conference finals. No way they win that series without Curry. Even if he can play by then, he will need time to get back in form. So if he misses the entire semifinals, and the team somehow wins, I have a hard time seeing how the Warriors win the finals with a very rusty Curry in the first few games.
I think the only way the Warriors go all the way is if Curry heals faster than projected, which is quite possible, and gets back into action no later than the fourth game of the semifinal series. The team will have to make a very difficult decision about doing everything possible to advance in the postseason vs. making sure they don't rush him back and risk aggravating the injury with possible long-term consequences. Even then, it will be tough.
I do think this validates the team's going all out for the wins record this year. There's no reason to think this injury had anything to do with extra effort during the season--it was basically a freak accident--so if the Warriors don't win the championship, they will still have that record to celebrate.
Edit: Here's a sobering analysis of the injury:
http://sports.yahoo.com/news/the-truth-about-steph-curry-s-injury-005912613.html;_ylt=AwrXoCEb5R5XDQUAMoNNbK5_;_ylu=X3oDMTByZDNzZTI1BGNvbG8DZ3ExBHBvcwMyBHZ0aWQDBHNlYwNzYw--
If this guy is right, I'd say the Warriors have very little chance of going all the way. The only possible hope is that the team has not had to play more than a couple of games without Curry this year, and it's possible they get better as they adjust to that.
I'm surprised at the number of sportswriters who think the Warriors can win the second round, probably against the Clippers, without Curry. In one roundtable I read, 3/5 picked the Warriors to beat the Clippers if Curry was out for the entire series, and one of the others picked them if Curry came back midway through the series.
The Clippers were a pretty good team this year even without Griffin, and now they have him. In their two games with him vs. the Warriors this season, they led by double digits in the fourth quarter before going down. I really don't see how the Warriors can beat them without Curry. It's possible they might play Portland instead, but I doubt that.
Great players make a big difference to a team in the NBA. When Jordan retired to play baseball, the Bulls went from three consecutive championships to a team that couldn't get past the second round. In fact, when MJ returned after missing one full season and about half of another, and had about half of that second season to get back in form, they still were a shell of the team they had been.
And if somehow the Warriors get past the second round, they will probably be playing the Spurs in the conference finals. No way they win that series without Curry. Even if he can play by then, he will need time to get back in form. So if he misses the entire semifinals, and the team somehow wins, I have a hard time seeing how the Warriors win the finals with a very rusty Curry in the first few games.
I think the only way the Warriors go all the way is if Curry heals faster than projected, which is quite possible, and gets back into action no later than the fourth game of the semifinal series. The team will have to make a very difficult decision about doing everything possible to advance in the postseason vs. making sure they don't rush him back and risk aggravating the injury with possible long-term consequences. Even then, it will be tough.
I do think this validates the team's going all out for the wins record this year. There's no reason to think this injury had anything to do with extra effort during the season--it was basically a freak accident--so if the Warriors don't win the championship, they will still have that record to celebrate.
Edit: Here's a sobering analysis of the injury:
http://sports.yahoo.com/news/the-truth-about-steph-curry-s-injury-005912613.html;_ylt=AwrXoCEb5R5XDQUAMoNNbK5_;_ylu=X3oDMTByZDNzZTI1BGNvbG8DZ3ExBHBvcwMyBHZ0aWQDBHNlYwNzYw--
If this guy is right, I'd say the Warriors have very little chance of going all the way. The only possible hope is that the team has not had to play more than a couple of games without Curry this year, and it's possible they get better as they adjust to that.
Maybe more of 'just part of the game' than a freak accident, but you are correct.Merckx index said:
The assertion about the ankle brace is too simplistic.
More injuries to big players tonight. Chris Paul breaks hand, out 4-6 weeks and Blake Griffin has more quad issues. He is 50/50 for the next game. At first glance, it doesn't look good for the Clippers. Many people actually thought they could give the Warriors quite a scare, but now, they are in worse shape (literally and figuratively) than the Dubs. Portland has a young, up and coming team that plays really well at home, so this one could very well go 7 games. No Griffin or Paul will obviously hurt the Clippers. If Curry's injury doesn't keep him out more than the two week prognosis he's been given, then the Dubs are still favorites to defend their title. If he has to miss more time, then it obviously pegs them back. They can't afford to have him out against the Spurs and/or Thunder. Though the way Portland has been playing and if they keep gaining confidence and get past an injured Clippers team, it won't be one way traffic for the Warriors in round two, that's for sure.
The Cavs don't seem to have too many rivals in the East, so i don't see them losing before the finals. It's too bad, because I am not exactly a Lebron fan.
The Cavs don't seem to have too many rivals in the East, so i don't see them losing before the finals. It's too bad, because I am not exactly a Lebron fan.
BullsFan22 said:
Yes, the plot thickens! If the Clips pull out the series, the Warriors without Curry should definitely be favored over the Clips without Paul (though not everyone assumes he's done, someone said he might be back in a week), with or without Griffin. They really would have no excuses for not winning that series (and I was one who thought the Clippers did have a shot at beating the Warriors, even with Curry). I think GS without Curry would also have a decent chance against the Blazers, though Portland handed the Warriors their worst loss of the season. This last game may have been an exception, but generally, if you shut/slow down Lillard and McCollum, you beat that team, and the Warriors without Curry are actually better defensively, particularly at the perimeter where Portland's two guards feast.
In any case, the Blazers’ win makes it more probable that the series goes seven games, which would mean it would end on May 1. I assume the semis in that case would not start before May 3, and maybe even May 4. That is nine days from the Curry MRI. In that case, he would probably be re-evaluated before Game 3, definitely before Game 4, though even if he were actually cleared to play, I don’t know if he would. At that point he would have played less than 40 minutes, about the equivalent of one full game, over the previous three and half weeks.
People should also remember that for most of the season, the Warriors have only been considered to have about a 40-45% chance of winning it all, assuming full strength. That's because it's assumed they would have to go through the Spurs, which were rated by the stats as almost as good. Those odds may have changed a little after the Warriors beat the Spurs twice near the end of the season, but that still figures to be a very tough series, even if Curry is at 100%.
I don't know what to make of the Cavs. They swept Detroit, but the games were for the most part very close. Was the team able to turn it on when they needed to, or were they just lucky?
Merckx index said:
Indeed. This was perfect opportunity for the Clippers to win against the Warriors without Curry but with no CP I don't see how they pull it out. A real shame cause Paul was the best player in the playoffs so far. Last year Chris Paul also missed a couple of games during the playoffs against the Rockets but that was with Griffen playing great aswel and that just isn't the case this year because of his ab injuries.
About the Cavs. They're clearly the best team in the East and I don't see any team that can take them out. Pacers, Raptors, Heat, Hornets, Celtics and Hawks all look equally good. I think all the non Cavs series in the east will go to 7 and they'll be cannon fodder for the Cavs. Only team that might have a chance is the Heat imo cause they could get into LeBron's head. In the past that was how you beat him (think Celts '10 or Mavs '11) but last couple years have shown it is not as easy to get him doubting himself anymore. In the Finals the cavs will have a really hard time though. I don't think they can win 4 against Spurs or Warriors unless LeBron goes supernova.
LeBron's teams in the playoffs since 2010 have won 18 of 21 series.
Re:
And Paul out at least four weeks. This is good news for the Warriors, who must feel a lot more confident they can get through the entire second round without Curry, which will probably be their preference even if he’s cleared to play early. The Clippers without both of their two best players should be a piece of cake, though for just that reason the Blazers will probably win that series. They're not to be taken lightly, they certainly would pose a tougher challenge than Houston, but they aren’t nearly the team the Clippers at full strength would have been.
Also, there may be a silver lining for Curry. His ankle may have been strong enough to play in Game 4, but it probably wasn’t at full strength. While his knee is healing, so is his ankle, that should definitely be fully recovered by the time he can play. Given his history of ankle injuries, that’s a big plus.
The biggest winners, though, are the Spurs, who are fully healthy, and getting lots of rest. I think they will handle OKC pretty easily. The WCF looks to be more winnable for them than they had expected. Even assuming it’s GS, Curry probably will not be at 100%, it’s quite possible he might not even be playing in the beginning of the series. The teams are close enough that a little edge like that could be crucial.
In other NBA news, Steve Kerr wins Coach of the Year, despite missing the first half of the season. He was credited for the 39-4 record that the team recorded while his assistant Luke Walton was in charge. Interesting that second went to Terry Stotts, coach of the Blazers, as it now appears very likely that these two coaches will face each other in the semis. And the winner will most likely face the Spurs and Pop, who finished third as COY.
Edit: There’s actually a decent sample size to compare the Warriors vs. Houston with and w/o Curry. During the regular season, the two teams played three times, once without Curry. In this postseason, they’ve met four times. Curry played the first half in two of the games, so effectively one game with Curry, three without.
So there are a total of seven games, three in which Curry played vs. four when he didn’t. In the three games in which he did play, the Warriors outscored the Rockets 351-301, which is an average score of 117-100. In the four games he didn’t play, the Warriors outscored the Rockets 434-396, an average of 108-99.
So Curry’s absence cut the average margin of victory in about half, from 17 points to 9 points. Essentially of this difference came from a lower average score for the Warriors, while the average score for the Rockets did not significantly change. But it should be noted that of the games Curry did play, 2.5 were at home, only 0.5 on the road; whereas of the games he missed, 2.5 were on the road vs. 1.5 at home. So Curry has been absent more on the road, and that could also partly account for the lower margin of victory in games in which he didn't play.
Billie said:
And Paul out at least four weeks. This is good news for the Warriors, who must feel a lot more confident they can get through the entire second round without Curry, which will probably be their preference even if he’s cleared to play early. The Clippers without both of their two best players should be a piece of cake, though for just that reason the Blazers will probably win that series. They're not to be taken lightly, they certainly would pose a tougher challenge than Houston, but they aren’t nearly the team the Clippers at full strength would have been.
Also, there may be a silver lining for Curry. His ankle may have been strong enough to play in Game 4, but it probably wasn’t at full strength. While his knee is healing, so is his ankle, that should definitely be fully recovered by the time he can play. Given his history of ankle injuries, that’s a big plus.
The biggest winners, though, are the Spurs, who are fully healthy, and getting lots of rest. I think they will handle OKC pretty easily. The WCF looks to be more winnable for them than they had expected. Even assuming it’s GS, Curry probably will not be at 100%, it’s quite possible he might not even be playing in the beginning of the series. The teams are close enough that a little edge like that could be crucial.
In other NBA news, Steve Kerr wins Coach of the Year, despite missing the first half of the season. He was credited for the 39-4 record that the team recorded while his assistant Luke Walton was in charge. Interesting that second went to Terry Stotts, coach of the Blazers, as it now appears very likely that these two coaches will face each other in the semis. And the winner will most likely face the Spurs and Pop, who finished third as COY.
Edit: There’s actually a decent sample size to compare the Warriors vs. Houston with and w/o Curry. During the regular season, the two teams played three times, once without Curry. In this postseason, they’ve met four times. Curry played the first half in two of the games, so effectively one game with Curry, three without.
So there are a total of seven games, three in which Curry played vs. four when he didn’t. In the three games in which he did play, the Warriors outscored the Rockets 351-301, which is an average score of 117-100. In the four games he didn’t play, the Warriors outscored the Rockets 434-396, an average of 108-99.
So Curry’s absence cut the average margin of victory in about half, from 17 points to 9 points. Essentially of this difference came from a lower average score for the Warriors, while the average score for the Rockets did not significantly change. But it should be noted that of the games Curry did play, 2.5 were at home, only 0.5 on the road; whereas of the games he missed, 2.5 were on the road vs. 1.5 at home. So Curry has been absent more on the road, and that could also partly account for the lower margin of victory in games in which he didn't play.
Fans like the Bobcat's "Purple Shirt Douche" should be immediately ejected. I don't care how much money you have, or how much money you paid for your court side tickets, that behavior should be an automatic trip out the backdoor. The NBA needs to get a handle on it because its becoming more and more common, and aggressive (partly because these idiots get fame on social media).
Word is that Curry thinks he can play in Game 3 of the Portland series, next Saturday. Game two is Tuesday, but then there’s an unusually long gap till Game 3. At that point it would be twelve days since the MRI, when it was announced that Curry would be re-evaluated in two weeks.
Curry doesn’t make this decision, though. After the ankle injury in Game 1 of the Houston series, he thought he would play in Game 3 of that series, and he didn’t. But there’s a delicate balancing act here. While the longer he rests, the healthier he will get, he’ll also get staler from the inactivity. Assuming the Warriors win this semifinal series, they will definitely need Curry in the conference finals, and if he doesn’t play at all vs. Portland, he would go into that series out of action for two and a half to three weeks (and very limited action for another nearly two weeks before that). He would not be 100%, and that could make a critical difference.
So it may not be as simple as having Curry sit as long as the team keeps winning. If the Warriors were to win games 2 and 3 without Curry, he probably would not get enough time in Game 4 to get back to speed. Then the team would be in the strange position of almost wanting to lose to extend the series.
Assuming Curry is healthy enough to play, the ideal situation would probably be for him to play games 3 and 4, and a game 5. That would give him three games to shake off the rust, and also reduce the time of layoff between the end of that series and the beginning of the next. And Curry’s return not only makes the team stronger, but provides a little rest to the other starters, who have had to play longer and harder than usual in his absence.
Curry doesn’t make this decision, though. After the ankle injury in Game 1 of the Houston series, he thought he would play in Game 3 of that series, and he didn’t. But there’s a delicate balancing act here. While the longer he rests, the healthier he will get, he’ll also get staler from the inactivity. Assuming the Warriors win this semifinal series, they will definitely need Curry in the conference finals, and if he doesn’t play at all vs. Portland, he would go into that series out of action for two and a half to three weeks (and very limited action for another nearly two weeks before that). He would not be 100%, and that could make a critical difference.
So it may not be as simple as having Curry sit as long as the team keeps winning. If the Warriors were to win games 2 and 3 without Curry, he probably would not get enough time in Game 4 to get back to speed. Then the team would be in the strange position of almost wanting to lose to extend the series.
Assuming Curry is healthy enough to play, the ideal situation would probably be for him to play games 3 and 4, and a game 5. That would give him three games to shake off the rust, and also reduce the time of layoff between the end of that series and the beginning of the next. And Curry’s return not only makes the team stronger, but provides a little rest to the other starters, who have had to play longer and harder than usual in his absence.
A stale Curry is better than no Curry if he rushes back too soon and ends up out again.Merckx index said:
The Curry legend grows with a game for the ages...
He didn't start tonight, but entered the game in the middle of the second quarter. He missed his first nine three point attempts, his first shot was actually an air ball, but he seemed to get comfortable in the fourth quarter, scoring ten points. The game went into OT, and he scored 17 more points, more than the entire Portland team, and apparently an all-time NBA record for a player in OT. He finished with 40 points in about 37 minutes, about as much time as he had played total previously this postseason. The plan was to play him about twenty-five minutes, but that went out the window when his backup was ejected just before the end of the first half.
So much for my theory that he would need 2-3 games to get back to speed. The Warriors chances of repeating as champs now look better than they have since he went down in the first postseason game with an ankle injury. They can win this series and move on to the conference finals with a win at home in a couple of days, and without worrying that Curry needs more time to rehab. Also, the Spurs-Thunder series will go at least six games, so the Warriors could get some extended rest if they can close out the series in Game 5.
Cleveland still hasn't lost, could be a repeat of last year's finals match-up, and maybe the Cavs are a better team than they appeared to be during the regular season.
He didn't start tonight, but entered the game in the middle of the second quarter. He missed his first nine three point attempts, his first shot was actually an air ball, but he seemed to get comfortable in the fourth quarter, scoring ten points. The game went into OT, and he scored 17 more points, more than the entire Portland team, and apparently an all-time NBA record for a player in OT. He finished with 40 points in about 37 minutes, about as much time as he had played total previously this postseason. The plan was to play him about twenty-five minutes, but that went out the window when his backup was ejected just before the end of the first half.
So much for my theory that he would need 2-3 games to get back to speed. The Warriors chances of repeating as champs now look better than they have since he went down in the first postseason game with an ankle injury. They can win this series and move on to the conference finals with a win at home in a couple of days, and without worrying that Curry needs more time to rehab. Also, the Spurs-Thunder series will go at least six games, so the Warriors could get some extended rest if they can close out the series in Game 5.
Cleveland still hasn't lost, could be a repeat of last year's finals match-up, and maybe the Cavs are a better team than they appeared to be during the regular season.
Following on the sideline and yes, Cavs is definitely better. I don't know if its coaching related or what, but Love seems to actually play ball now and Irving is just Irving, I just love to watch him, unfortunately I haven't over the last couple of years. I remember him from his 2nd season in the NBA and I just went out and got myself a jersey. Many didn't know who he is, but his handling is 2K-esque and his jumper is sweet. A worse edition of Curry....
I think SA wins in 6 now, Im a huge Durantala fan, but I have never liked the on court chemistry between Westbrook and him. Hopefully he leaves when/if they doesn't win, but I can't really see them winning.. they have to beat SA, GSW and Cavs, 3 teams which are better than them IMO.
Hoping Heat advances, Wade is vintage ATM, but its not enough. They can possibly, at best, get 2 games, but nothing more against Cavs.
Curry is already a legend. Didn't see it live, just a highlight package, but this kid is simply amazing. Can he eclipse the great Jordan? Only time will tell...
I think SA wins in 6 now, Im a huge Durantala fan, but I have never liked the on court chemistry between Westbrook and him. Hopefully he leaves when/if they doesn't win, but I can't really see them winning.. they have to beat SA, GSW and Cavs, 3 teams which are better than them IMO.
Hoping Heat advances, Wade is vintage ATM, but its not enough. They can possibly, at best, get 2 games, but nothing more against Cavs.
Curry is already a legend. Didn't see it live, just a highlight package, but this kid is simply amazing. Can he eclipse the great Jordan? Only time will tell...
Re:
Above I agreed with you that SC would be stale, but he could still help the team. I guess that he is only stale for a few minutes instead of a few games. He is just in 'the zone'.Merckx index said:
The matchup that I have been waiting for, OKC-GSW. Durantala, Westbrook, Curry, everybody are ready. This will seriously be a goodie. +110 points every series - I might have to watch this.
Game 6 was weird. I thought Pop would put Manu in the starting line-up for a big (which is what he always does when the Spurs are in trouble in the playoffs). He did do it but only at halftime and the game (and Spurs' season) was already lost by then. Think he didn't do it cause this time it was Duncan he had to pull instead of the other big.
Had not expect the Thunder to beat the Spurs. Especially after game 1.,
Had not expect the Thunder to beat the Spurs. Especially after game 1.,
Re:
Close, but I still think they have something in them to make a comeback. It does seem like they are running out of gas a little bit and they are playing a team that's peaking at the right time and has all the momentum in the world. Oh and two of the best players in the league as well.
Valv.Piti said:
Close, but I still think they have something in them to make a comeback. It does seem like they are running out of gas a little bit and they are playing a team that's peaking at the right time and has all the momentum in the world. Oh and two of the best players in the league as well.
Re:
No sir they're not. I also bet 2000 pesos (125 USD) that says that they will win!Valv.Piti said:
Incredible game last night. Really thought the Thunder were going to win when they kept getting offensive rebound early in the 2nd half but once Curry and Thompson got hot they were done. Great great series.
Hopefully the Finals come close. Should be better than last years.
Hopefully the Finals come close. Should be better than last years.
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